Antique Wall Clocks

Clocks & Watches — By admin on June 8, 2010 at 4:29 am

Antique wall clocks refer to clocks – either weight- or spring-driven – that are hung on a wall and are over a hundred years old. It embraces a wide variety of styles, from the simplicity of the English round-dial clock, to the exuberantly carved German cuckoo clock and the ornately-cast metal cartel clock.

The earliest wall clocks had long pendulums like those in grandfather clocks and were weight driven. They often also came with bulky openwork iron frames in the Gothic style. The first spring-driven wall clocks with short pendulums date from c. 1750.

Vienna Wall Regulators

Weight-driven precision clocks against which other timepieces could be regulated
Two types: the lantern clock with a large top and bottom and the rooftop clock with elegant lines and a simple architectural top.
Cases were in three sections, veneered inside and out, usually with mahogany, and glazed on front and sides.
The hands were always of blued steel.

Round Dial Wall Clocks (English Dial Clocks)

First produced during the 1750s
Simple in appearance and easily read
Round-dials are functional, rather than decorative
Typically placed in offices and shops.
Early round-dial clocks had a verge escapement, with a short pendulum.

The earliest English dials are painted wood, and either flat or convex. On the very rare early examples, the dial ground is painted black, with gilt numerals. However, most dial clocks on the market today have an engraved and silvered brass dial or a white-painted wood or iron dial.

Identification checklist for round-dial wall clocks
1. Is the case mahogany?
2. Does it have a bottom door and at least one side door?
3. Does it have a mellow appearance? (indicative of age)
4. On early clocks, does the back have a “saltbox”?
5. If there is a painted dial, is it in good condition?
6. Does the dial have a glass cover?
7.Is the clock signed?
8.Are the hands blued steel? (or, more rarely, brass)

Trunk Dial Wall Clocks

Taking their name from the trunk or box below the dial, trunk-dial wall clocks began to appear from c.1785. The trunk allowed the clock to take a longer pendulum, a feature which improved their accuracy.

Identification checklist for trunk-dial wall clocks
1. Does the trunk have two doors?
2. Is the mahogany veneer of good figuring?
3. If there is a painted dial, is the white ground free of
cracks and scratches?
4. Is there a glass cover to the dial?
5. Is the clock signed?
6. Are the hands blued steel? (or, rarely, brass)

Black Forest Clocks
The first competition to the English wall clocks came from the wooden clocks produced in the Black Forest region of Germany. The industry flourished in the 18thC and underwent intensive development during the early 19thC, when large numbers of Black F’orest clocks were exported.

Black Forest clocks are all weight-driven, and almost all are of 30-hour duration. They are easily wound; the weights are simply pulled up every night. From the late 18thC, all Black Forest clocks had an anchor escapement.

Black Forest clocks often have additional features, such as musical work or automaton figures. Figures appear in a cutout on the painted wood dial. With its richly carved case, the cuckoo clock is the most famous type of Black Forest clock. It is wrongly considered to be a Swiss invention.

American Wall Clocks
Wall clocks were produced in the United States from c.1780. From c.1850, exports of inexpensive American wall clocks contributed to the decline in popularity of English wall clocks. All American wall clocks are weight-driven, with an anchor escapement and a long pendulum with a brass
bob. Typical features include a white-painted metal dial, as well as a panel of reverse-painted glass. The “banjo” case is the most sought-after American wall clock.

Timeline Of The Antique Wall Clock

From mid-l600s: Wall clocks could be either weight driven (usually going 30 hours) or spring driven (running 8 days).

1620: The first specifically English clock, the single-handed brass lantern clock, topped by a bell that gives it a characteristically domed appearance, was developed. It was made until c.1720 in London and into the 1800s elsewhere. English spring-driven clocks included the drop dial and the common Victorian wall dial, with the movement box hidden behind a glazed round painted dial; both developed from the tavern clock.

From 1715, French clock makers made increasing numbers of cartel clocks, often in fancifully shaped cases by leading cabinet makers, or bronziers.

Mid-1700s: A cottage industry in the Black Forest of Germany made clocks with wooden movements and cases that led to the cuckoo clock.

1770s: In England, the basic round-dial clock was introduced. Its forerunner was the later versions of the tavern clock. The inexpensive round-dial clock came about as a result of Britain’s increasing wealth, which created a growing demand for timekeepers.

Early 1800s: Viennese clock makers produced precision wall regulators with fine glazed cases and enamel dials. The rough equivalent in America was the banjo clock. There was a great revival of cartel clocks in the 1800s.

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